June 2006 Issue

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Computer Problems

Last month I wrote about the various computers I have owned. I mentioned that my old Amstrad never broke down or gave me any trouble. My second computer in use is a Dan which I use mainly for the newsletters and various other programs mainly text based. I also use it occasionally for recording and when possible on the rare occasions I use the internet.

My Dan is, or should I say was very reliable. I wish that I had never written about these things because the next time I went to use my Dan computer the thing broke down. I think that there is a law covering this which begins and ends with 'S'.

I did all that I could to get the thing going but eventually had to take it in for repair where, as I had expected, they found that the hard disk had failed. They want £90 to fit a new hard drive and I am still making up my mind whether to go ahead with this offer or purchase and fit a new drive myself. The problem is that they have spent time on the computer for which I will be charged anyway so fitting a new drive myself would not save a lot of money.

I expect like me, you constantly read about the wisdom of keeping your backups up to date. Well I didn't. I discovered that my last backup was over a year ago and I have lost a lot of valuable information. Fortunately I have hard copies of the most important information but I have still lost a lot that was very useful.

Take my tip - BACKUP - you have been warned

Video Recording

The main reason for me purchasing my latest computer, which is an Evesham, was that I like recording. Over the years I have accumulated hundreds of recordings. Taking in everything, including reel-to-reel, cassettes and VHS video tapes, possibly thousands.

I have transferred many hundreds of cassettes to CD which has kept me busy since buying the computer about two years ago. I enjoy the recording and the designing of the CD labels and sleeves. I have always had it in mind to transfer my video tapes to DVD butuntil recently have never had the time to study the process.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that it was time to make a start on video recording as I am running out of time myself. I know that some may think that it is a waste of time and money doing it at my age but I enjoy doing it and the cost, after you have the hardware, is very small. My son supports me in this although his taste for films and music is not the same as mine and I expect that it will all finish up at the local dump one day.

I found that, having the necessary software, the job of recording video is quite simple after you have mastered the basics.

My first video recording was a huge success and the results quite satisfactory although the original material was not of the best quality. I telephoned Nigel King to tell him the good news although of course Nigel had already mastered the technique, still he was good enough to congratulate me on my success.

I next sorted out the best of my collection for recording and started on the next film. The recording to my hard drive was completed successfully but when I came to transfer the film to DVD a notice came up saying that there was not enough room on the DVD. Further investigation revealed that a normal DVD will only hold about an hour of film. I had just been lucky with my first film

Further inquiries revealed that there was a DVD available which would enable me to make longer recordings but the cost of one DVD of this type is £6 at PC World. I think that cheaper ones can be obtained at a Computer Fair but they are still expensive enough to use only for the best of material.

I decided to wait a little and try to pick up some at the Computer Fair but then I discovered that my DVD recording drive would not accept this type of disk and that I would need to replace it with a double layer type. I have not inquired about the price of these but I feel that the whole thing is getting a bit expensive.